Surviving the Scorch // Twins Series {Book Two}

twenty two

Chase led me into the tent where they had Brenda laying down on a cot with some tubes going into her arm. Her breaths were coming out in short gasps and as Jorge sat on her other side, grasping her hand tightly in his, she took in a staggering breath and stabilized.

The doctor spun around to face us with a broad smile on her face. "Clara, Chase, please, have a seat by Thomas." She lightly dropped her hand on Thomas' shoulder as she spoke and he turned to meet my gaze. He sat across from Jorge with a tube coming out of his arm that matched one of Brenda's.

Chase squeezed my hand and pulled me forward, pushing me to sit by Thomas.

What's going on Tommy?

Recognition flashed across his face as he watched me adjust myself in my seat before I turned to face him.

She'll explain it to us, Clara. It's okay. I vaguely remember her, she can be trusted.

His brown eyes studied mine and I found myself nodding in response as the doctor made her way over to us.

"I'm sure you're both very confused but everything will make much more sense after I explain what's happening." Her kind eyes flickered between me and Chase before finally settling on me. "I've known you all since you were brought in to Wicked. I assure you that you'll be safe here, with me and your father, and we have no intention of hiding anything from any of you." She smiled again as she had when we first walked in and extended her hand towards me. "First however, I am Mary."

I glanced down at her hand and quickly reached out to shake it, Chase following my lead. Her smile widened and she released Chase's hand and sat down in front of us on the edge of Brenda's cot. "You were all very, very young when you were brought in. Thomas was even younger than you two." She nodded to Thomas before her gaze landed back on me. "Clara, we knew immediately that there was something different about you, something that made you special. Last I heard they still didn't know what exactly just something, a chemical in your brain that made your blood different. When mixed with Chase's...we almost got the cure." She smiled a sad smile before standing and walking over to a table near the entrance.

There were beakers, tubes and other miscellaneous medical equipment scattered on the table. Her hands moved quickly over the beakers and she let out a deep sigh, eyes remaining focused on the table. "That's why it became so important for them to try to find what made you special, Clara. Once they found that, they had a real chance at creating a cure." She paused and her grief filled eyes met mine.

Chase squeezed my hand as Mary took a step closer. "That's why they did everything they did to you. They had no intention of putting you in the maze because they thought it might be too dangerous for you. If something should happen to you then they might never get the cure. Instead, they planned on keeping you as their primary test subject. Their lab rat as Jansen liked to say it. And if something were to happen to Chase, it would be devastating but your blood reacted similarly with Thomas' so you were the one they needed. Anyway, in the beginning you were all lost and confused. We didn't know exactly what made you special just that the younger you were the stronger your chances. It was a different world when I worked for them, you all have to realize that." She stopped working with the beakers to come closer to us once again.

Chase had a tight grip on my hand as we considered everything she had just told us but that didn't help the feeling of nausea that spread through me. Wicked wanted me back so badly to test on me and figure out why my blood was different because I was the one who could make the cure. Wasn't it selfish then to hide from them? If they truly could get the cure...

Stop over thinking all of this Clara. It's not as easy as it sounds. They'll test you and experiment on you like they used to only it'll be worse now. They have less of us to test on so you'll be their main focus all over again. They had you for years and didn't make much progress. And they won't stop until they get the cure that they might not ever get. They'll test you until they kill you.